Jaerock Lee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.
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Jaerock Lee (born 1943, Muan County, Jeollanam-do, South Korea) is the senior pastor of the Manmin Joong-ang Church in Seoul. He holds an honorary Doctorate of Ministry from Kingsway Theological Seminary in Iowa, awarded in 1996.[1] His followers have offered personal testimonies of his alleged ability to heal through prayer, including curing diseases like AIDS and leukemia. However, his ministry is controversial; Lee himself was excommunicated from the Church of Holiness in May 1990, and his organisation was ejected from the Christian Council of Korea in April 1999 over "heretical claims". Leaders of the Korean Missionary Association have also accused him of being a cult leader, pointing to an alleged July 1998 statement by Lee that he was "sinless and exempted from dying".[2][3] A professor at Texas Christian University compared Lee's tactics of organisation-building to those of Sun-Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church.[4]
In 1999, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, a South Korean television broadcaster, aired a documentary critical of Lee; in response, 300 of his followers invaded the television station, attacking security guards and breaking into the station control room to cut the power, while another 1,500 organised a sit-down protest in a nearby street; 600 riot police were needed to restore order. The station had previous been prevented by court order from airing a story on Lee's sex life.[3] In July 2006, Lee came to the United States to lead a three-day "Salvation Miracles Revival Crusade" at New York City's Madison Square Garden; local Korean American ministers organised protests in response, calling it a "satanic movement".[5] Major League Baseball player David Wright, third baseman for the New York Mets, was tricked into doing a commercial for Lee's crusade; Wright agreed to appear on camera and offer an endorsement because he believed that the event had already been approved by the Mets, but in fact, the advertisement, which featured unauthorised uses of the Mets' logo, was being put together by a reporter who misused his press credentials to gain access to Wright and film him. After the misuse came to light, broadcasting of the advertisement ceased, and Wright publicly apologised.[6] The crusade, which was also endorsed by New York senator Ruben Diaz and New York City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, attracted large numbers of Latinos and other members of immigrant groups.[4][7]
[edit] References
- ^ Introduction of Church: Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee. Manmin Joong-ang Church. Retrieved on 2007-02-19. Hanja from Chinese version.
- ^ "S. Korean evangelist's Uganda visit prompts cult jitters", Kyōdō, 2000-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ a b "Korean TV airs controversial documentary", BBC, [1999-05-12]]. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
- ^ a b "Controversial Korean Preacher Courts Latinos and Other Immigrants", WNYC (New York), 2006-07-29. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Farnam, T.W.. "Plan to protest minister's NY visit", Newsday (New York), 2006-07-26, p. A16. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ "NL Notebook: Wright Ad Is Pulled", The Washington Post, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ Benson, Josh. "Politics and Faith Healing", The New York Observer, 2006-08-16. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
